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SLICS Goodies

TonyE

TonyE

HONOURED MEMBER RIP
Here are a few of my SLICS goodies.

The first is a Winchester .303 inch drill round with a blackened case and two small holes drilled. The cap is intact. I believe these were produced for function testing the Pattern '14 rifles being produced at that time. headstamp is "W 15"

Next is a United States Cartridge Co. .303 inch drill, but this one is tinned and has an empty cap chamber. Headstamp is "US 17 VII"

Thirs is a Winchester .303 inch proof round with a tinned case, again probably made for proofing P.'14 rifles. Headstamp is "W 16"

last is the best one, an aluminium cased .303 inch Mark VII from about 1916. it is believed these cases were made by the British Aluminium Company, although they were probably loaded by Kynoch or possibly RL. A mark VI version with the 215 grain round nosed bullet also exists. It is unheadstamped.

Regards
TonyE
 

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Very nice TonyE,
especialy the aluminium cased one,did notice the Winchester proof has the all too common cracked neck that WW1 US produced .303" suffer from.

Anymore goodies?

Cheers
Tony
 
ALL powder is unstable in the long run. The rate at which powder deteriorates dependnds on the residual acid content of the powder. In war time, less effort is put into "washing" the acid out of the powder based on the logic that the loaded rounds will be used up quickly. Powder that deteriorates gives off acid gasses (oxides of nitrogen and/or nitric acid).

Brass is susceptible to "stress corrosion cracking". The parts of the case under the highest stress are the neck and shoulder. I have had handloads using WWII surplus powders show neck and shoulder cracking (splitting) after prolong storage.
 
JMHO but I don't think the powder has anything to do with neck, shoulder, or body cracks. It's the result of inadequate or improper annealing when the case is drawn or extruded, coupled with the stresses set up when loaded. You'll find that some cartridges will develop neck cracks almost always, while others never will. Here in the USA, the Cal .30 Ball (30-40 Krag) is one of the worst. But when you pull the bullets you'll find the powder to be as sweet as it was on the day it was born.

Ray
 
The chemical composition of the propellents (particularly in cordite) dry out the natural "oils" that metals contain. This results in the metals "hardening" basically by drying out. The propellant soaks up/reacts with the oils. Therefore when put under heat,pressure.stress,tension loads the metal fails - cracks etc.
The reaction between the chemicals in the propellant in themselves are not an issue - the problem is the result of that reaction against that of the composition and the case?
Aluminium is a very reactive element - hence why it is not used widely as a case. It would probably be more detrimental to long term storage of rounds than the propelant.
In wartime brass & copper run out very quickly/uneconomic. Changing to cheaper more available steel cases, that is logical - bear in mind they hadn`t expected to have this ammo around for long!! Hence why the preference today is still for brass cases? Think how much time & money must have been spent in WWI & WWII on ammo research?
The Periodic Table is above reproach! & I make my living from it now!
Sorry - its the engineer in me if you find this boring!!
 
I know it's dangerous to argue with an Engineer, but, why do you also find neck cracks in cases that have never been loaded?

You're right. Millions of dollars have been spent on developing steel cases but we always return to brass. There must be a good reason behind that.

One of the biggest problems with aluminum cases is the alloy's liklihood to "burn". I know that "burn" isn't the proper technical term but I think you know what I mean. Even the tiniest flaw in the metal can turn into a conflagration if it come in contact with the hot combustion gasses.

Ray
 
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Necks crack for a number of reasons. Brass work hardens and, as you reload the brass (and work the neck) stresses are built up. Even when a case is made, the neck is annealed in the process to remove stress. I have seen cases sitting in a laoading block with cracked necks. The cases were in a cupboard with powder that had gone "bad" and the fumes from the powder had contributed to the stress corrosion cracking. Deteriorating powder (or more precisely the gases given off during the breakdown of powder) contibutes to the stree corrosion cracking of brass.

Brass is used because:
- it is mallable and can be easily formed by stamping
- it can be work hardened and thus resist the pressures of modern cartridges
- it has natural lubricity
 
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